PCB forced to reschedule Australia white-ball series amid PSL, T20 World Cup in India

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly in talks with Cricket Australia (CA) to reschedule the upcoming white-ball series to a different date. This is being done in order to avoid the clash of the Pakistan Super League and the T20 World Cup 2026 with the white-ball series, where Pakistan and Australia will engage in three T20Is followed by as many One-Day Internationals.

As part of the proposed original schedule, the T20Is were scheduled right before the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka, earmarked to begin on February 7. Following the 20-team tournament, the Australians were to return to Pakistan for the 50-overs leg of the series. However, that may clash with the PSL, and hence, the two boards are in discussions to find a middle ground.

The three T20Is were to be played on January 30, February 2, and February 5 — tightly before the start of the T20 World Cup, following which, the ODIs were slated to be held on March 13, March 16, and March 19. Now, since the PSL, which generally takes place in February, has been pushed a little further to be played in March, as a result of which, playing a bilateral series won't be desirable for PCB.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will be unveiling the full schedule of the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, November 25, post which, a final call regarding Australia tour of Pakistan will be taken with better clarity of thought. For the time being, it can be understood that the ODIs for the tour may not proceed as planned, while T20Is will go ahead as scheduled.

This is not the first time that PCB are facing a schedule issue due to an ICC event. 2025 marked the return of multinational events in Pakistan with the Champions Trophy, due to which the PSL was held across April-May, under the shadow of the Indian Premier League (IPL) — the biggest franchise-based T20 league in the world.